Indexing device



March 19, 1935. J. Q. HOLMES INDEXING DEVICE Filed Aug. 12, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR 5224/ ATTORNEWZ March 19, 1935'. J. Q. HOLMES- INDEXING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 12, 1933 MEN Q mu n mh 9 %m h 7/ 1 mm 9 .R .V 9 E k mm m A 9 v x Nw Na 9w N\ Q\\| 9 Q K K k H mm Q R mu J. Q. HOLMES INDEXING DEVICE March-19,, 1935 Filed Aug. 12, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 W r/7Z1 n F d \w l.

' ATTORNEYA Patented Mar. 19, 1935 7 1 9 4 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE John Q. -Holmes, Anderson, Ind., assignor, by

mesne assignments, .to General Motors Corporation,. Detroit, Micl1.,-a corporation of Delaware . Application August 12, 1933, Serial No. 684,810

Claims. (01. 74436) This invention relates to devices for imparting Fig. 2' is a section taken along the line 2-2 of intermittent motions. to a machineelement such Fig. 1. as-a work conveyor and more particularly to Fig. 3 is a iragmentary sectional view taken means for locking and accurately positioning the along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

5 intermittently moved machine element-between Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken stop periods. along the line 44 ofQFig.- 2. The Geneva wheel, which is frequentlyem- Fig. -5 is a fragmentary sectional view. taken ployed for the indexing of a machine element has along the line 55 of Fig. 2. well known provisions for locking the same, but Fig. 6 is a fragmentary-sectional viewtaken 10 even though it is locked thereby, the machine elealong the line 6-5 of Fig. 3. p p 10 ment still has a certain degree of play which ne- Fig. '7. is a sectional View taken along the line cessitates the provision of accurate positioning 7 .7, of Fig.1. v means apart from the locking provisions on the Referring more particularly to the drawings, Geneva wheel. As for instance in the .case of a the reference numeral 10 designates a frame di work conveyor which is adapted to convey work vided into a casing 11 and a supporting platelZ 15 into certain stations to be operated upon by tools which is normally mounted on a suitable-place of or other means at these stations, it still is the ora machine as for instance the bolster plate of -a dinary practice to provide a plurality of recipropunch press. A stub shaft 13, keyed to the supcable pilots which cooperate with bushings in port ngp ate 1 0f thef-rame by a screwl 6X- the work conveyor. Aside from the fact that tends beyond said supporting plate and rotatably 20 such pilots are apt to be worn considerably due supports a Geneva drivenwheel 15 to which is to the fact that frequently they have to move the pressfitted-a-bushing 16 surroundingsaid extendentire workconveyor slightly in order to register ing stub shaft portion. A retaining member 17 with the bushings therein, such pilots obstruct is clamped agains t ew 15 by uts 18 whi h a clear-view of the work conveyor and =oiten'- are, threaded over-a redu e and 9 0f Stub aft 25 times of the tools and furthermore give rise to 13, whereby. the wheel is maintained in engageinjuries to the operator'of the machine. 'It is mentwitha shoulder20'ofthe bushing 16. Retherefore obvious that the thus applied pilots are ceived by a cylindrical reduced portion of the responsible for three distinct disadvantages, Geneva filliVEl'l-WQBGI 15 is a work conveying disc namely, considerable wear-of the pilots, obstruc- 22 which is bolted to said wheel 15 as at 23 and 30 tion of: a clearview of-the work on'the work which isfpropelfly po ti e theretoj b conveyor and of the work conveyor itself, and one-or more dowel pins 24, received'by a-bushing the immediate possibilities of injuries to the op- 25 whichyas shown in Fig. 7, ispress-fitted into erator of the machine. aligned bores 26 and 27 of the work conveying vide a positioning device especially for work con- A small hole 28. in. wheel 15 is, provided for the veyors which overcomes the above mentioned purpose fv bushing -w dow l disadvantages. 7 pin 24-isforced therein. An oil =nipp1e29-occa- This object is accomplished by providing a posions the lubrication of stub shaft 13. U

sitioning device which also performs the func- The Geneva'driven Wheel 15 is of the standard 40 tion of the well known Geneva wheel locking protype with the exception that itdoesnot have the vision, .thus rendering the latter obsolete, and by a chap d IeCeSSeS locking p p locatingthis device in such manner that it is stead the :periphery 30 intermediate the driving well hidden from view and out of reach of the grooves? 31 0f t d v Wheel 15 v t u y operator. .drical. Cooperating with the Geneva ;dr iven 45 7 Further objects and advantages of the present wheel is a Geneva driver 32 of conventional deinvention-will be apparent from the following design, having a roller 33 -which isadaptedto c0- .scription, reference being had to the accompanyoperate with the grooves-31 of theGenevadriven ing drawings wherein a preferred embodiment wheel in order to index thesarne. This Geneva of one form of the present invention is clearly driver 32 isattachedin'any suitable manner to 50 shown. anend portion of another. stub shaft 34 whichis In the drawings: journaledginja bushing;35, providedbytrans- Fig. 1.-is aplan view of awork conveyor, showverse rib;36; of-casing 11,.aIld-.;in;,a ball bearing the drive: therefor and a;.-nove1 locking and .37, one race. of .whichis screwed to a-cover.- :plate P Dg device. i38zwhichis1 attached to thecasing 11 by a1plurali- It is an object of the presentinvention to prodisc and the Geneva driven wheel, respectively. 35

ty of screws 41. A retainer 39 retains the other race of ball bearing 3'? in proper position by means of a spacer 40 and a nut 40a. which is received by a reduced end portion of stub shaft 34.

Journaled in ball bearings 42 and 43, provided by the casing 11 as shown in Fig. 1, is a shaft 44 which is provided with a worm 45, meshing with a worm gear 46 which is keyed as at 4'7 to stub shaft 44 intermediate the bearings 35 and attached by screws 51 to the casing 11, closes said casing so as to prevent the operator from getting caught and possibly injured by the roller of the rotating Geneva driver.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3, 5 and 7, the casing 11 is provided with a lateral cut-out 60 and two axially aligned pressfitted bushings 61 and 62. Slidable in said bushings is 2. cylindrical bar 63, having a pilot head 64 which is adapted to cooperate with one of [a plurality of equi-angularly spaced pilot bushings 65 pressfitted into the wheel 15. In the present instance the Geneva driven wheel 15 has four equi-angularly spaced radial grooves 31 which provide for intermittent one quarter revolutions of the same, hence during one complete: revolution of the Geneva driven gear the same stops intermittently four times and it isobvious that four pilot bushings are provided. Bar 63 is normally urged in the direction of arrow 66 by a compression spring 67, located in a recess 68 of said bar and bearing against a spring retainer 69 which is attached to the casing 11 by screws 70. Resting against a shoulder 71 of bar 63 is a member 72, carrying an anti-friction roller 73 which is constantly urged into engagement with an arc-like cam 74, integral with the Geneva driver 32. This member 72 has a lateral extension '75 which is received by a groove '76 of a guide member 77, attached to the casing 11 by screws 78 as best shown in Fig. 6. This groove 76 extends parallel to the coaxes of the bushings 61 and 62 so that member 72 is free to move parallel to said coaxes together with bar 63 but cannot rotate relative to saidbar. The cam '74 which is more clearly shown in Fig. 5 isso arranged, that during intermittent motions of the Geneva driven wheel 15 the cam lobe '79 maintains the pilot head 64 of bar 63 out of engagement with the pilot bushings 65 in wheel 15, and upon arrival of the Geneva driven wheel 15 into the next intermittent rest station, the cam descent 80 permits bar 63 to move in the direction of arrow 66 under the compression of spring 67, at which time one of the pilot bushings 65 is in axial alignment with the'pilot head 64 so that the latter may enter the bushing and properly position the Geneva driven gear and therewith the work conveying disc 22. When the roller of the Geneva driver is about to enter the consecutive groove 31 of wheel 15, the cam ascent 81 forces the pilot head 64 out of engagement with the pilot bushing so that the Geneva driven gear is free to rotate. It follows from the preceding description that the coordinated cam '74, member 72, bar63 with its pilot-head 64 and the pilot bushings 65 not only lock the Geneva driven wheel but furthermore accurately position the same. Furthermore the entire coordinated structure is built into a closed casing and therefore not hindering the operator of the machine in the performance of his work.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

7 1. In combination with Geneva wheels, a pilot reciprocable. parallel to the axes of rotation of the Geneva; wheels and normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bushings in the Geneva driven wheel and flush with an end surface thereof, the pilot being adapted to register with said bushings; and means including a part carried by the Geneva driving wheel for withdrawing the pilot from registry with a bushing immediately before the Geneva driven wheel is indexed.

2. In combination with Geneva wheels, a pilot reciprocable parallel to the axes of rotation of the Geneva wheels and normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bushings in the Geneva driven Wheel, and flush with an end surface thereof, the

pilot being adapted to register with said bushings; and means including a cam on the Geneva driving wheel for withdrawing the pilot from registry with a bushing immediately before the Geneva driven wheel is indexed.

3. In combination with Geneva wheels, an open casing rotatably supporting the Geneva wheels and being substantially closed thereby; a pilot in the casing, said pilot being reciprocable parallel to the axes of rotation of the Geneva wheels and normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bushings in the Geneva driven wheel and flush with an end surface thereof, the pilot being adapted to register with said bushings; and means including a cam on the Geneva driving wheel for withdrawing the pilot from register with a bushing immediately, before the Geneva driven wheel is indexed.

4. Incombination with Geneva wheels, a reciprocable pilot having a shoulder and being normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced pilot bushings in the Geneva driven wheel; a member slidably mounted on the pilot, said member bearing against the shoulder and having an arm projecting at right angles to the pilot axis; a roller journalled on said arm; a cam on the Geneva driving wheel cooperating with the roller to cause the pilot to reciprocate in such manner that the same registers with a pilot bushing during intermittent stops of the Geneva driven wheel; and means for preventing rotation of the member relative to the pilot.

5. In combination with Geneva wheels, a reciprocable pilot having a shoulder and being normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced pilot bushings in the Geneva driven wheel; a first member slidably mounted on the pilot, said member bearing against the shoulder and having two arms projecting at right angles to the pilotaxis; a

roller journalled on one of said arms; a cam on the Geneva driving wheel cooperating with the roller to cause the pilot to reciprocate in such manner that the same registers with a pilot bushing during intermittent stops of the Geneva driven wheel; and a second member having a straight groove extending parallel to the pilot axis and receiving the other arm of the first member so that the latter is free to move parallel to the pilot axis but prevented from rotating relative to the pilot.

6. In combination with Geneva wheels, a reciprocable pilot having an annular shoulder; a spring urging the pilot toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced pilot bushings in the Geneva driven wheel; a first member slidably mounted on the pilot and having two arms projecting at right angles to the pilot axis; a roller journalled on one of said arms; a cam integral with the Geneva driving wheel and cooperatingwith the roller to retract the pilot from the Geneva driven wheel and to permit the spring to move the pilot toward said wheel in such manner that the pilot registers with a pilot bushing during intermittent stops of the Geneva driven wheel, the spring and the shoulder of the pilot urging the member toward the cam; and a second member having a straight groove extending parrallel to the pilot axis and receiving the other arm of the'first member so that the latter is free to move parallel to the pilot axis but prevented from rotating relative to the pilot.

7. In combination with Geneva wheels, a pilot reciprocable parallel to the axes of rotation of the Geneva wheels and normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bushings in the Geneva driven wheel and flush with an end surface thereof, the pilot being adapted to register with said bushings; and means actuated in response to rotation of the Geneva driving wheel for withdrawing the pilot from registry with a bushing immediately before the Geneva driven wheel is indexed.

8. In combination with Geneva wheels, a pilot reciprocable parallel to the axes of rotation of the Geneva wheels and normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bushings in the Geneva driven wheel and flush with an end surface thereof, the pilot being adapted to register with said bushings; and means carried by the Geneva driving wheel for withdrawing the pilot from registry with a bushing immediately before the Geneva driven wheel starts to rotate, and for releasing the pilot in withdrawn position immediately before the Geneva driven wheel comes to a stop.

9. In combination with Geneva wheels, a pilot reciprocable parallel to the axes of rotation of the Geneva wheels and normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bushings in the Geneva driven Wheel and flush with an end surface thereof, the pilot being adapted to register with said bushings; and means including a cam on the Geneva driving wheel for withdrawing the pilot from registry with a bushing immediately before the Geneva driven wheel starts to rotate, and for re leasing the pilot in withdrawn position immediately before the Geneva driven wheel comes to a stop.

10. In combination with Geneva wheels, a pilot reciprocable parallel to the axes of rotation of the Geneva wheels and normally urged toward the Geneva driven wheel; a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bushings in the Geneva driven wheel and flush with an end surface thereof, the pilot being adapted to register with said bushings; and means actuated in response to rotation of the Geneva driving wheel for withdrawing the pilot from registry with a bushing immediately before the Geneva driven wheel starts to rotate, and for 

